Trust in AZ jab falls across EU

CONFIDENCE in Oxford/AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has plunged across Europe, polls show.

European leaders paused the rollout of the jab last week over fears it caused blood clots. The European Medicines Agency later said the vaccine was not associated with a higher clotting risk.

Nevertheless, more people in France (61 per cent), Germany (55 per cent) and Italy (43 per cent) now believe the jab is unsafe, according to YouGov. In France, this was a jump of 18 points since February, while in Italy it was a mammoth 27 point rise.

Faith in the vaccine in the UK was dented less but still fell. Nine per cent of people said the jab was unsafe, a jump of four points.

But more than three quarters of Britons still say both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs are safe.